Paris-based ARRO Studio has transformed a 19th-century warehouse into the design studio for British...

SourceYour and Charity

Everybody deserves a chance to know better
We believe in education and in re-thinking the way things are done. So much talent is wasted in this world because many people (children and adults alike) do not have the opportunity to get the education they would need to make a difference in this world.
Our charity donations are aimed at knowing better and improving the life circumstances for people around the globe through the means of education.
We donate 5% of our revenue to charities which have education support as their main aim.

Dutch manufacturer of office furniture, Drentea, achieved a turnover of EUR 20 million in 2012, comparable with their turnover in 2011.

The first quarter of 2013 however, shows a growth of 15% compared with the same period of last year, according to Bert Top, CEO of Drentea.

While the Dutch market for office furniture has been flat to down over the last years, Drentea keeps growing and invests heavily in efficient and sustainable production facilities.

In 2012, Drentea won large projects with customers such as the Dutch Ministry of Defense, the Dutch Governmental Water Management, Sanoma Media and Schneider Electric.

Bert Top commented: “In the last years, Drentea has managed to increase its market share primarily by reacting quickly and efficiently to customers’ demands. But we also grow because we keep investing in our production facilities.”

Last year, Drentea expanded its production area by 8,000 m2. This year, Drentea invests in the modernisation of its facilities. The installation of a fully automatic sheet metal processing unit has recently begun, an investment of EUR 2 million.

Bert Top elaborated: “This machine is able to produce complete parts of desks, cabinets and pedestals from a role of sheet metal. This increases our capacity and reduces our costs.”

“Drentea tries to develop products that can be produced automatically as much as possible. This new machine also contributes to the reduction of waste materials, by at least 60%. We use less energy and less materials in the supply chain, an enormous progress in the field of sustainable production. We already reduced our total waste by 20%, we now use 80% FSC-certified wood for our desk tops and our sick leave is below 3%.”

Drentea is confident about the future, in which price and delivery time will be key. Drentea expects to continue to be able to compete with low-wage countries since it develops and produces product in the Netherlands and can thus guarantee continuity of supply.

Bert Top concluded: “The typical Dutch Design products are at the base of customer demand; together with our motivated and creative dealers in the Benelux countries we realise great furnishing projects. The success of Drentea can mainly be explained by its strategy to only sell via this selected dealer network.”